The Sh8.6
billion project will boost access to data in the region improving greatly on
the lag and latency which slow internet usage by making it expensive to most
users.

Telkom Kenya
commenced the survey for the DARE 1 cable interconnecting Djibouti, Somalia and
Kenya in late 2018 with the State Department of ICT, Telkom Kenya and partners concluding
the first raft of commercial negotiations in Djibouti, paving way for the
manufacturing process and associated material in February 2019.

The cable
comes at a time when most cables are coming to the end of their lifeline, which
usually ranges between 15-20 years.

It also
provides a redundant international connection on newer and more reliable
technology and the biggest capacity in the country which is an essential boost
to the region’s digital economy.

It also owns
a 2.6% stake in the East African Submarine System Cable and manages the
National Optic Fibre Backbone, an inland fibre optic cable network running
through Kenyan counties.

The cable
which will be ready for the market in June this year took the engineers 45 days
to lay.

According to Shipping
and Maritime PS Nancy Karigithu, the cable will open wider the access of
Kenya’s current network.

She added
that it will also help to augment Mombasa’s position as a regional hub.

With the
landing in Mombasa of the DARE 1 sub-sea cable which is a 3-fibre pair, Telkom is
now tasked with the laying and managing the inland fibre optic cable connecting
various regions across the country.

The cable has a lifespan of 20 years and it comes after The East African Marine System (TEAMS), SEACOM, Eastern African Submarine Cable System (EASsy) and Madagascar linked, Lion2.

DARE 1 will connect Kenya and the Great Lake countries from June 2020 with PS Karigithu adding that the new cable will provide resilient and secure network connectivity to Kenya affordably with plans to expand to remote areas in the country through community information Hubs.